


I was Expecting Treasure

by Azek



Category: Dragon Age II
Genre: Gen, Nonbinary Character, Nonbinary Hawke - Freeform, misadventure with Isabela, small amounts of blood not graphically described
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-30
Updated: 2017-05-02
Packaged: 2018-10-25 23:46:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10774998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Azek/pseuds/Azek
Summary: Not long after the Deep Roads, Isabela discovers a secret that could make her a tidy profit. She decides that Hawke is the best person to help her.Non-binary Hawke, they/them pronouns.Varric shows up at the end.





	1. Cover




	2. Treasure Cave, Spider Cave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hawke and Isabela begin their adventure, but Hawke finds trouble when the two of them become separated.

Hawke entered the Hanged Man tavern and made a beeline for the bar. Surprisingly, Isabela was nowhere to be seen. To be polite, they ordered some of the swill the place sold while they waited.

Earlier that week Isabela had asked them, rather eagerly, to meet her here. Bored, they decided to see what she was so excited about. They’d already guessed it wasn’t about the relic; she was always fidgety when she made headway on finding it. She’d lost interest in it lately, much to Hawke’s relief. They were sitting at the bar for a good twenty minutes before she finally joined them.

“Good, you’re here!” she said, pleased.

She waved the bartender down then slapped a square piece of paper between them. Hawke sipped from their mug, examining the paper. They lowered their drink and looked at her, patiently waiting for her to explain.

“It’s a map!” she said joyfully.

Hawke opened their mouth to make a retort but she continued on quickly.

“Yes, obviously, but this is a treasure map! I snagged it from some… adventurer types.”

Hawke rolled their eyes and shook their head.

“Right… Do I want to know where you actually got it from?”

Isabela smiled, smug.

“Oh, poor child! Is Aveline lurking here somewhere to arrest me if I break the law?”

“Again,” Hawke added, “But, no… today she’s putting her new recruits through training drills.”

“I bet she is.” Isabela said, mischievously.

“What about this map you found?” Hawke asked, abruptly changing the subject.

Isabela chuckled, “prickly, are we?”

She pointed down at the map, “It’s a cave out near the Wounded Coast. We’ll have to take a little boat to get to it.”

She indicated a tiny beach surrounded by high cliffs, a fissure leading to a larger cave.

“It was probably formed by the tide ages ago. It doesn’t go up that high now, though, so no danger of drowning. The ‘adventurers’ told me, however, that all sorts of treasures have been washed in there over the years from ship wrecks and the like: gold, weapons, and all sorts of rare antiques.”

Hawke frowned.

“If the caves have been exposed for so long how do you know there’s still anything of value down there?”

Isabela shrugged.

“Well, of course, there’s no way to know for sure, but the two idiots I ‘retrieved’ this map from found it on accident. As far as I’ve been able to tell no one’s been in there,” she leaned forward, a daring light dancing in her eyes, “until now!”

Hawke raised their eyebrows, “why do you want me to come along? It sounds easy enough for one person to manage alone.”

Isabela slapped their arm, “I need someone to help carry the loot, of course. Besides, it’ll be fun! You’re not going to turn your nose up at an adventure, are you?”

Hawke pursed their lips and narrowed their eyes at her.

“I thought you found me boring, why the sudden desire to hang around with me, why aren’t you asking Merrill? I’m sure she’d love to go spelunking with you.”

Isabela sighed, “If you must know, I did. She’s too busy with that demon-mirror of hers.”

Hawke made a mock offended look, “so I’m your second choice? I see how it is.”

Isabela stared at them for a beat.

“What?” Hawke asked, wondering if they had somehow offended her.

She laughed, “I’m a bad influence on you! You just made a joke!”

Hawke let out an incensed breath.

“I’ve made jokes before; you’re just never around to hear them.” Hawke complained.

“See, this is why you should come with me. We ought to get to know each other better!”

Hawke glowered, “Oh, really?”

Isabela pouted, “Please?”

Hawke raised an eyebrow. She never said please.

Her pout intensified, “don’t make me go ask Fenris.”

\---

The Wounded Coast

            Hawke and Isabela pulled the small boat they’d acquired up onto the beach. It hadn’t taken them long to find the cave, but Hawke could see why no one had discovered it before. The only way to reach it was to go through the ship graveyard. No one would go that way on a whim.

Hawke let out a breath and looked at Isabela, “How exactly did these two ‘adventurers’ find this place?”

Isabela shrugged, “they were scavenging the wrecks near here. They were being careless, didn’t tie their boat off, and had to swim out this way to retrieve it.”

“They swam here?” Hawke asked, disparagingly.

They trudged up the bank to the entrance of the cave. Rotting planks littered the area and Hawke spotted a trunk hidden behind some brush. They tipped it over and discovered it was still intact.

“Ooh, let’s see if there’s anything inside.” Isabela said, happily.

There was a lock holding it shut but Isabela merely stomped on it and the whole mechanism came off.

“Thank you, water damage,” Isabela smirked.

She flipped it open. Inside were some crumbling clothes and water-cracked books. Isabela tossed these aside and rummaged around a little more. A locket slipped out from between some of the clothes as Isabela tossed them aside and Hawke picked it up. It was rusted iron, but Hawke figured it had likely once been painted gold. They clicked it open, only for the lid and hinge to snap off: Inside was a miraculously undamaged painting of four people, a family Hawke guessed. They lowered their hand looking away from the carefully crafted painting, bitter memories rising to the surface.

“You dropped this,” Hawke said, handing it to Isabela, who looked up from her fruitless search.

“Oh, clever.” Isabela said, taking it and looking it over.

Her face froze when she saw the painting. She looked up at Hawke and held it out to them.

“Are you sure you don’t want it; finders keepers?”

Hawke shook their head, mutely. They walked up to the cave and peered inside, while Isabela dropped the rusted remnant of the amulet back into the pile of clothing. The cave entrance showed evidence of giant spider activity; web stretched from the ceiling to the floor in some places. Hawke and Isabela used their daggers to clear the web from the entrance; wouldn’t want it to slow them if they needed a quick escape. Hawke paused once they were finished, a thought occurring to them.

“Perhaps we should have brought back up?” they said, indicating the now web-cleared entrance.

Isabela clapped them on the shoulder.

“That’s what you’re here for! You’re a spider slaughtering golem!”

Hawke frowned, doubtful.

“I think you may be overestimating my abilities…”

“Oh, don’t be a bore! Go, I’ll be right behind you, ready to jump in.”

Hawke looked apprehensively at the spider web covered cave.

“I’m going to regret this.” Hawke predicted as they entered the cave, drawing a dagger.

\---

           Hawke moved slowly. It was nearly impossible to see ahead but lighting a torch was a terrible idea with the spiders around. Instead, Hawke was sticking to the right side of the cave, running their hand lightly along the wall, though it was unpleasant with the webbing. Hawke’s hand had passed over several things that were not web, but some poor insect or small mammal that had gotten caught in the web. Isabela made a disgusted sound every few minutes. Hawke would have told her to be quiet but it was a useful way to know she was still there. To aid their return trip, Isabela was leaving a faintly glowing powder on the walls. She’d apparently bought it from the Circle of Magi. It was relatively easy to see in the near darkness. They’d been walking for several minutes when they realized they hadn’t heard Isabela in a while. They turned around to check on her. What they saw was tentatively alarming. Isabela was no longer behind them and the glowing powder trail was nowhere in sight.

They paused, irritated, then began walking back towards the entrance when another thought occurred to them. It was entirely within Isabela’s nature and skills to go ahead of Hawke and not use the glowing powder, trusting her instincts to lead her back out again. She wouldn’t be very worried about Hawke, being a skilled fighter themself. They froze unsure how to proceed. If Hawke went back the way they’d come and didn’t find Isabela, she could be in trouble further in the cave. It would take them twice as long to find her. On the other hand, if they were misjudging her, she was likely back somewhere near the entrance of the cave. Had she gone ahead, she’d want Hawke to turn back, her look-out-for-number-one attitude notwithstanding. Hawke pursed their lips, prematurely annoyed. If she didn’t want them along or if she wanted all the spoils for herself she should have asked someone else (Fenris, probably).

In the end Hawke decided to return to the entrance. Isabela was resourceful; if she had pulled one over on them she could survive until they caught up. Hawke hadn’t gone two steps when something latched onto their leg and sank its fangs in. Hawke muttered a stifled curse and twisted around to look. Unsurprisingly, it was a giant spider. This one was a little smaller than the average; a cave spider that seemed a little sluggish. Hawke hated spiders. They tried to shake it off but it had a damn death grip on their leg! Panic started to threaten to overcome their reasoning. They pulled their daggers out and slashed down at the thing. The spider let out a muffled hiss of protest, but held firm.

“Let Go!” Hawke snapped at it.

After longer than Hawke liked, they were headed back to the entrance. They were on edge now, jumping at every little sound. They resisted the urge to start muttering curses under their breath. Their leg hurt, they were grumpy, and at this point they just wanted to go home. Grumbling under their breath might make them feel better, but it would attract more spiders; if there were more. They fantasized briefly about scolding Isabela once they got out of here. It wouldn’t make the pirate very remorseful, though, so Hawke suspected they’d just let this whole fiasco pass.

“What are friends for?” Hawke muttered, despite themself.

Their hand got caught in a wad of sticky web and they pulled their hand free with a disgusted grumble. They moved a little further forward before reaching out for the wall again. Except there was open air and spider web strands instead of wall. Hawke stumbled forward until they found the wall again, then turned to look at the entrance to a previously covered branch of the tunnel. A glow drew their attention to a small pile of the magic dust on the ground in front of the new tunnel. Isabela must have discovered the tunnel by leaning too hard against the tunnel wall; that would explain the spill of magic powder. Hawke peered down the new tunnel and could make out a faint glow along the right wall. Clearly, she’d gone this way, without getting their attention Hawke noted, crabbily. They started down the fresh tunnel, suspecting that the pirate would have some excuse.

There was less web on the walls than those of the main tunnel, hinting at no spiders, Hawke hoped optimistically. They’d gone pretty far down the tunnel when something snapped under their foot. Hawke bent down and found a small bone that had broken when they’d stepped on it, likely from a Nug. They grimaced tossing the bone back to the floor; so much for no spiders. Hawke readied their daggers, hoping to avoid any surprises. They continued, bones cracking unsettlingly under their feet. A little further ahead Isabela’s trail ended abruptly. Hawke squinted trying to see if the trail picked up again farther down the tunnel, fruitlessly.

“Isabela?” Hawke whispered, their voice echoing softly.

After a moment, they switched to the other side of the tunnel whereupon a faint light became visible, evidently hidden by a hard curve in the tunnels path; daylight leaking in from somewhere. Perhaps Isabela had stopped using the powder when she'd seen the light. Or she’d run out. They stepped forward to continue their pursuit but instead of stepping onto the solid rock of the tunnel their foot met little resistance and they began to plummet downward! A shout of alarm had barely escaped them when they landed heavily on a sharply slanted surface, knocking the wind out of their lungs, and sliding forward off another ledge. They swung upside-down, suspended by the strands of spider web they had aparently fallen through. They coughed weakly as they tried to regain their breath. Just as the strands gave way Hawke caught a glimpse of the bright blue glow of Lyrium somewhere beneath them. They fell, thrusting their hands forward hoping that the fall wasn’t too-

They landed painfully on their hands, their arms giving way easily, changing the direction of their momentum forward into a somersault. They tumbled once forward before Hawke desperately clawed at the tunnels walls, trying to halt their descent. After a meter or so the tunnels downward curve shallowed and Hawke successfully stopped.

They groaned, shifting onto their side and tucking their throbbing hands under their armpits. Then they forced themself to pull their hands back out and inspect them. It was difficult to see in the blue light, but their palms and the pads of their fingers were scratched and bleeding, the edges of their nails a little ragged. They looked back up toward the pitfall they’d, well, fallen down, and spotted the Lyrium vein they’d seen while hanging by the spider threads. Hawke was grateful they hadn’t impaled themself on it when they’d fallen. They shifted back around to survey the cave the pitfall had led to. It was large and draped in spider webs; it was just their terrible, terrible luck that a humongous spider was crouched at the furthest end of the cave.


	3. A Bang Up Job

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We last saw Hawke in a bit of a pickle. How are they going to get out of this one?  
> Hint: It involves explosives

Hawke stared at the spider, frozen, a thrill of fear catching the breath in their throat.

 _Maker’s Breath!_ they cursed silently.

Hawke slowly released their breath and reached for one of their daggers, but as their hand grasped open air they realized they had dropped their daggers in the initial impact of their fall. They looked around for them and saw a glint of metal a couple meters away. They could get to it before the spider launched its attack, but they didn’t like their chances with only one blade. Nonetheless, Hawke crouched in a preliminary motion to dart for their dagger. The spider hissed menacingly, but didn't yet move.

“Hawke!”

They looked up to where the voice had come from and saw Isabela hanging from a rope, her feet planted on the side of the pitfall. She let go of the rope and carefully skidded over to where they were sitting.

“Where have you been?” Hawke asked, whispering angrily.

Isabela shrugged.

“At least I’m not the one who needs rescuing.”

Hawke felt their face turning purple.

“That’s not- do you have _any_ idea what-“

The spider hissed again and began to advance slowly. Hawke hissed back at it.

The spider stopped then took an uncertain step back.

Isabela’s mouth parted in surprise as she stared at them and then at the spider, flabbergasted.

“Right. You’ve been down here to long, you’re negotiating with a spider!”

Hawke turned their glare back to her.

“There weren’t supposed to _be_ any spiders! I wasn’t supposed to be searching this damn nest for you because _you_ wandered off! You were supposed to be right behind me!”

Isabela let the awkward silence stretch, no doubt trying to think of a witty comeback. The gigantic spider let out it’s rasping hiss and began to slowly advance again. Hawke let out an agitated huff and said,

“Get. Me. Out of here!”

Isabela smiled.

“Are you sure you don’t want to-“

“Isabela!”

“Alright, no need to get your trousers in a bunch!” She pulled them up and they scrambled to the rope.

Isabela threw a sleep powder bomb behind them at the spider’s face. The bomb let out an anticlimactic pufff, then they were both ascending the rope. The rope rubbed abrasively against Hawke’s injured leg as they climbed and the fibers of the rope dug painfully into their hands. When they finally pulled themself over the edge of the pitfall, Isabela practically climbing up on top off them, the bandage they'd tied around their leg was soaked and falling apart. Hawke was about to wrap their hands and rebind their leg when a low hiss resonated from below, echoing loudly through the tunnels. A cascade of hisses echoed back in response a beat later.

“No time for that!” Isabela said briskly.

She pulled them to their feet and swung their arm over her shoulder. They stumbled forward together, bones snapping and cracking beneath their feet.

“Where are we going?” Hawke asked, alarmed that they weren’t heading back towards the entrance.

Isabela gestured ahead towards the light reflecting off the walls.

“This way’s faster!” She answered, confidently.

They rounded the curve in the tunnel and Hawke could see the crevasse where the light was coming from, a rope swaying gently down through it. They both stopped at the rope and looked down at Hawke’s hands and their bleeding leg.

“You first,” they said simultaneously.

Hawke stared at her wearily and opened their mouth to argue, but Isabela spoke first.

“I refuse to stand here and argue with you while we’re overrun by giant spiders!”

“Good point.” Hawke acknowledged, and started climbing as best they could.

After what seemed like an eternity, they pulled themself over the lip of the crevasse Isabela again right behind them. She pulled Hawke away from the edge of the hole then back up onto her shoulder. She lit an explosive and dropped it down the crevasse.

“We’re not out of these shoals yet!” She said, turning and running, hoisting Hawke higher over her shoulder.

Isabela was mumbling something under her breath and Hawke was about to ask her, through the mild dizziness, what she was saying when they realized she was counting down. Isabela lugged them behind a larger outcropping of rock dotted with some scraggily bushes. She laid Hawke down, crouching protectively over them and said, “One!”

There was a thunderous explosion followed by the sound of rock falling around and near them. After several seconds the only sound was the soft clatter of sliding pebbles as the ground settled. Then the sounds of wildlife returned. Isabela shifted and leaned back against their hiding place breathing out relief. Hawke sat up precariously and moved so they were leaning next to her. They sat together, breathing and listening to the calm ambient noise that contradicted the previous chaos.

“Well,” Isabela said, dusting sand off her shoulders, “that worked out pretty well.”

Hawke turned their head to look at her incredulously. She returned their look, defensively raising her hands to protest, but Hawke didn’t wait for her to speak. They rested their head back against the rock and said,

“I need a drink.”

\---

The Hanged Man Tavern

Varric wandered down from his room looking for the waitress.

“Hey, Corff! Where’s Norah?”

The bartender shrugged, disappearing into the backroom as the Hanged Man’s door creaked open. Varric casually glanced to see who the new arrivals were; then did a double take. Isabela was shuffling in, supporting Hawke who was stubbornly limping along. Varric walked towards them, at first concerned. There were weary shadows under Hawke’s eyes and their leg was bound in stained linen. Isabela and Hawke were both draped in threads of spider web and liberally coated in dust. Varric gazed at them, bewildered.

“Oh, you have got to tell me about this one. What in Andraste’s flaming knickers were you two doing?” Varric exclaimed.

Hawke exchanged a tired look with Isabela then patted her shoulder before carefully extracting themself and limping over to the bar. Varric watched them go, then returned his questioning gaze to Isabela. She shrugged dusting herself off a little.

“Well,” she started, “I was expecting treasure…”

Varric guffawed.

“Ehahaha! Let me buy you a drink, Rivaini, and you can tell me all about it.”

Isabella glanced at Hawke who was already drinking from a tankard.

“Gladly, and lend me your quill, will you?”

\---

The next day, Hawke was resting in a chair by the fireplace, their leg propped up on a stool that Bohdan had found in the cellar. Anders had visited and had looked over their leg. The injury had been healing well, thankfully. Anders had told them no more ‘adventures’ for a week or so, to let the wound heal in its own time. They wondered idly how long their recovery would actually last. Their friends tended to drag them into any excitement there was to be had and hardly a week would pass before one of them came looking for Hawke.

Their mother came in to check on them.

“Are you doing well, Love? I thought all this excitement would have died down by now.” She said, a little chiding.

“I’m fine, mother,” they said smiling to show they appreciated her concern.

“I know, dear. I only wish you would stop coming home bleeding,” she said leaning over the writing desk, which was littered with letters.

“Oh,” she said, surprised, “there’s a letter here from Isabela!”

She handed it to them and they opened it, sighing.

“What could she possibly want now?”

It was only a couple of untidy lines and Hawke shook their head, amused.

**Fin**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was trying to think of a story for Hawke and Isabela, because there should be more of them and then I had a dream of Hawke intimidating a huge spider by hissing at it and Isabela's subsequent reaction. It was so funny I had to write it. I only needed a location, some exposition, and an escape. After much thought I came up with my plot.  
> This is my first time posting a fic that is more than one chapter. It's been quite an experience figuring it out but I look forward to posting longer works in the future.  
> Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
